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Ex-Packer Jennings blames McCarthy, defense for lack of titles

Kirby Lee / USA TODAY Sports

Greg Jennings thinks he knows why the Green Bay Packers have only one Super Bowl win with Aaron Rodgers under center: defense and coaching.

The former Packers wideout was a guest on FOX Sports' "Undisputed" on Wednesday and tried to explain Green Bay's failure to return to the Super Bowl since the 2010 season.

"We always hear defense wins championships. They have a lack of defense. They haven't been able to put up the stops. The offense has put up the numbers, they haven't been able to stop anybody from putting up the numbers," Jennings said.

The season after the Packers won Super Bowl XLV, the team went 15-1, yet lost to the New York Giants in a home divisional-round game. Jennings referred to a Hail Mary touchdown by the Giants in that game to reinforce his point. That year, the Pack ranked first in offensive points and dead last in total defense.

Jennings didn't stop there, also arguing that head coach Mike McCarthy often got in the team's way with an overly conservative approach.

"I'm just going to flat-out say it: If we had a lead, our issue wasn't the defense, our issue was Mike McCarthy," Jennings said. "He would cuff us. ... When you watch New England play, when they have a lead, they go for your throat, they don't relax. ... They have a great quarterback, they have arguably the best quarterback in football, but they have - no doubt about it - the best head coach in football."

It isn't the first time Jennings has critiqued his former team. He left Green Bay for Minnesota in 2013, and made plenty of remarks afterward about Rodgers and his time with the Packers.

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